Nelsen Middle School Teacher Honored as ‘Symetra Hero in the Classroom’

Symetra and the Seattle Seahawks honored Nelsen Middle School teacher Vincent Davis as a “Symetra Hero in the Classroom” on Oct. 9, during a surprise classroom presentation. Davis is an English Language Learners (ELL) instructor at the Renton middle school.

“Vince Davis is an exceptional teacher who has taught many different subjects, but has excelled with special education students and learners who are new to English,” said Brian Hoskins, a teaching colleague at Nelsen Middle School and former Symetra Hero in the Classroom honoree. “By nature, Vince is a very kind person who has incredible patience with his students. He strives to create the best atmosphere for his learners. With his passion for ELL, his students make great leaps. Through a grant Vince received a few years ago, he offered ELL evening classes for the parents of his students. He also has done outreach in areas where many of our ELL students live to promote involvement in the community and school, as well as promote learning English to their parents.” Hoskins nominated Davis for the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom® award.

“Vince also led Nelsen Middle School’s Positive Behavior System (PBS) school-wide effort by creating videos featuring our students and teachers that were shown in each classroom,” said Hoskins. “These videos were creative, fun and used to help teach students how to be part of a school community. They helped start greater dialogue between adults and students. Vince’s work on PBS activities has been almost entirely as a volunteer — and PBS has made a great difference at our school.”

Davis is one of 16 K–12 teachers across the Puget Sound area who will be honored for educational excellence in the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom program during the 2013 NFL season. Teachers are recognized in front of their students and peers at surprise in-school presentations, and they receive a $1,000 donation for classroom books and supplies. In addition, they receive tickets to a Seahawks home game and are acknowledged during an on-field presentation at CenturyLink Field. Davis was recognized at the Oct. 13 game when the Seahawks took on the Tennessee Titans.

More information about Symetra Heroes in the Classroom is available at www.SymetraHeroes.com/Seahawks.

About Symetra
Symetra Financial Corporation (NYSE: SYA) is a diversified financial services company based in Bellevue, Wash. In business since 1957, Symetra provides employee benefits, annuities and life insurance through a national network of benefit consultants, financial institutions, and independent agents and advisors. For more information, visit www.symetra.com.